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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · wake · scale · drill · field · mark · race · object

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. race — a contest
  3. object — an aim
  4. object — a thing
  5. field — a subject
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mark — a trace
  8. race — humankind
  9. kid — to tease
  10. drill — a practice
  11. scale — in music
  12. race — the arms race
  13. object — to protest
  14. kid — child
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. drill — army training
  17. field — farmland
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. wake — a trail
  21. drill — the tool
  22. mark — a grade
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. scale — size or range

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com